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Tractrix Spiral

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TractrixSpiral

The tractrix spiral is a spiral with parametric equations

x(t)=acostcos(t-tant)
(1)
y(t)=acostsin(t-tant)
(2)

for t in [0,pi/2).

It is also known as the polar tractrix or complicated tractrix and was studied by Huygens and Varignon in 1704 and Cotes in 1722 (Ferréol).

See also

Spiral, Tractrix

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References

Ferréol, R. "Tractrix Spiral." https://mathcurve.com/courbes2d.gb/spiraletractrice/spiraletractrice.shtml.

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Tractrix Spiral." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/TractrixSpiral.html

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